The Spike Milligan letters

Spike Milligan letters #1

by Spike Milligan, Norma Farnes (editor)

[Milligan, Spike] Farnes, Norma. The Spike Milligan Letters. London, M. & J. Hobbs, 1977. Octavo. 159 pages. Original Hardcover with original dustjacket in protective collector's mylar. Excellent condition with only minor signs of external wear.

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction

159 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Terence Alan Patrick Seán Milligan, known as Spike, was a comedian, writer and musician. He was of Irish descent, but spent most of his childhood in India and lived most of his later life in England, moving to Australia after retirement. He is famous for his work in The Goon Show, children's poetry and a series of comical autobiographical novels about his experiences serving in the British Army in WWII. Spike Milligan suffered from bipolar disorder, which led to depression and frequent breakdowns, but he will be remembered as a comic genius. His tombstone reads 'I told you I was ill' in Gaelic.

Reviews

[Tori]

his twitter would have gone crazy

(2.5)

[Andrew]

Whilst this compendium of letters is nominally by Spike Milligan, it must be said that this is just as much Norma Farnes' book (she was his manager from the late 60s till his death). Thus, and to the credit of Farnes, the book gives us more of a rounded and dare one say less idealistic and humorous depiction of Spike.

Farnes puts her agenda for how she has edited Spike's letters down on paper early in the book, when she states how neurotic Spike could be, and how his emotional vulnerabilities could lead to depressive episodes. If one comes to this book with only an appreciation for or knowledge of Milligan's Goonish humour then the content may come as a bit of a shock, and not always a pleasant one.

It is hard to judge how good a book this is in terms of other compendiums of letters as I have not read many. However I would argue that it is a very decent effort and does add plenty of value at understanding Spike Milligan rather than just the crazy comedian. There is a later collection which I will review later after re-reading (from memory it is rather more detailed and comprehensive).

My biggest gripe with this book is the format of the paperback edition means that at times the text is very hard if not impossible to read. I can't blame this on the editor nor Spike; this is down to the publisher not doing well enough in the transition of the material from large hardback format to smaller paperback.

In summary, this is a must have book for the Milligan addicts, and one that might garner some interest from those who have heard of him and his work but would like to know more.

[Dane Cobain]

I was pleasantly surprised by this one because I’d been putting it off for a little while and it turned out to be pretty good. In fact, it was arguably one of the most interesting collections of letters that I’ve ever read.

Part of that is down to the subject matter that Milligan takes on here, which revolves around stuff like social justice and the welfare of animals. Sure, Milligan could be a bit of a dick, and I’ve mentioned in the past that a lot of his work doesn’t hold up to modern scrutiny because of the casual racism.

But still, this shows an interesting side of him, and some of it is just flat out funny. I could also see myself in him in some of the letters of complaint that he wrote. Yeah.

[Esther]

Romped through this in a day. Very funny letters (obvs), very scathing (and funny) letters to various institutes of authority and best of all the touching, human letters sent to those who wrote to him suffering from mental health issues, as Spike was always so open about his depression. His commitment of time to reply is so admirable. The young woman (girl really) in prison sentenced after trying to snatch a baby. The prison governor suppresses the letters at first, but Spike persists. And offers her such touching support and understanding of her trauma which led to her impulsive desperate act.

[Elin]

Starts off quite slow with a seemingly odd choice of functional letters, but gets much better towards the end.

The letters give a good impression of Spike's personality and day-to-day adventures and interests... Particularly his generous nature and kindness towards strangers.

It was even unexpectedly inspiring on this front I would say. It was an era of letters, pre-internet, pre-email; letters were important. All the same it made me feel like I should be writing more letters lobbying for positive change in the world.